Report: USB 3.0 support coming to Llano platform

AMD's upcoming Fusion APUs combine CPU and GPU components on a single die. That's an impressive feat of consolidation, but one that still requires a core-logic chipset. We haven't heard much about the next-gen chipsets that will accompany AMD's new APUs. However, SemiAccurate has a few details regarding designs destined to ride shotgun with upcoming Llano silicon.

Dubbed Hudson-D2 and Hudson-D3, the Llano chipsets look like beefed up versions of AMD's existing SB850 south bridge. Reportedly, both feature six 6Gbps Serial ATA ports, 14 USB 2.0 ports, four PCIe 2.0 lanes, and what appears to be a four-lane interconnect to hook into the APU. If AMD's previous core-logic offerings are any indication, those interconnect lanes are probably second-gen PCI Express.

The only difference between these Hudson variants seems to be support for USB 3.0; Hudson-D3 is listed with four SuperSpeed ports, while D2 has none. There's no indication of whether the USB 3.0 connectivity comes courtesy of the Hudson chip itself, or whether it's offered via auxiliary silicon that's simply part of the chip, er, set. One would hope for the former.